Wall Street Journal
• Becky Peterson, Micah Maidenberg
Demand for launch capacity is intensifying as SpaceX begins winding down its flagship rocket, while competitors work to increase their own flight cadence. The resulting supply crunch is making it more difficult for customers to secure rides to orbit and could sharpen competition among launch providers.
Commercial Space
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Demand for launch capacity is intensifying as SpaceX begins winding down its flagship rocket, while competitors work to increase their own flight cadence. The resulting supply crunch is making it more difficult for customers to secure rides to orbit and could sharpen competition among launch providers.
Katalyst will develop and launch a robotic spacecraft under the Pentagon’s Advanced Scalable Growth Architecture for Robotic Deployment program. The spacecraft is intended to assemble a large-format power-beaming system in orbit and transmit energy back to Earth, testing a defense-backed approach to space-based power delivery.
HEO has raised $25 million to expand its satellite imaging capabilities into geostationary orbit, increasing the company’s ability to collect and deliver imagery from a strategically important orbital regime.
Belgian satellite manufacturer Aerospacelab returned to profitability early this year after reporting a €17.75 million loss on €14.6 million in 2025 sales. CEO Benoit Deper attributed the improvement to diverse component contracts and limited production of complete satellites, ahead of its potential role in the €2.5 billion Iris2 program.
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SpaceX plans to wind down commercial Falcon 9 launches in the next few years, forcing satellite operators and launch customers to reassess access to orbit. The shift could reshape launch procurement, scheduling and competitive dynamics across the commercial space market.
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SpaceX is preparing Starship’s first orbital flight, with the Super Heavy booster at the launch pad and liftoff targeted for Sept. 28 pending FAA approval. Separately, Exolaunch and Space Cargo have contracted to fly the disk-shaped Starfall reentry capsule on commercial Starship missions in 2028 and 2029.
GHGSat’s second-generation satellite is designed to detect methane emissions with twice the sensitivity of the Canadian company’s original spacecraft while doubling monitoring capacity. The upgrade strengthens the firm’s ability to identify and track methane sources from orbit, supporting emissions measurement and climate-monitoring efforts.
The return to the Moon could support a lunar economy worth $566 billion by 2050, according to Deloitte. Reaching that figure will require building the transportation, surface systems and other infrastructure needed to make sustained lunar activity commercially viable.
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